Wallace Foundation Funds Research on Summer Academic Programs for Poor Children
During their long, languid summers, lots of children forget the lessons they learned in school. But the hot empty months pose an especially big academic hurdle for poor children, whose families might not have time or money for camps or enrichment activities.
Now new research suggests that school districts can stave off the summer slide by offering free, voluntary programs that mix reading and math instruction with sailing, arts and crafts, and other summer staples.
The research also shows, perhaps unsurprisingly, that students have to attend the programs regularly to reap the benefits.
"We would hope that these findings would encourage district leaders and others to consider whether summer programs can help them achieve their broader goals," said Ann Stone of the Wallace Foundation, which funded the research as part of its $50 million National Summer Learning Project...